Thoracic Key

Background.– Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains asymptomatic for many years but often revealed dramatically (inaugural rupture). Its relatively low prevalence in the general population (5.5% of men over 65 years) implies…

Background .– Carcinoid heart disease (CHD) may occur in patients presenting with carcinoid tumor and carcinoid syndrome. Studies evaluating the echocardiographic follow-up of these patients remain rare. The aim of…

Background .– Low-flow low-gradient aortic stenosis with preserved ejection fraction is a recently described entity, but its prognostic implication has only been little studied. Methods .– Three hundred and sixty-two…

Background .– Patients with severe aortic stenosis have impaired systolic function, despite a normal LVEF. Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) is a simple and reproducible measurement of these abnormalities of contraction….

Objectives .– The aim of this study was to assess right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction (EF) and its determinants in patients with organic mitral regurgitation (MR) by radionuclide angiography. Methods…

Background and objectives .– Restrictive valvular heart disease has recently been reported in patients after benfluorex exposure. However, little is known about its prevalence and echocardiographic features. The aim of…

Introduction .– Percutaneous balloon mitral valvulotomy (PBMV) in rheumatic mitral stenosis is effective. However, complications such as severe mitral regurgitation (MR) may occur. Therefore, it is justified to predict the…

Background .– The coronary flow reserve (CFR) is progressively impaired with aortic stenosis (AS) severity, but there is a broad range of CFR in patients (pts) with severe AS, and…